WOW! What an amazing week of swimming, and the racing isn’t
over yet. Last week I spent three days at my final (as a swim mom) Colorado 14& Under State Championships , where the swimmers just keep getting faster
and faster.
Now I’m in Federal Way, Wash., at the Speedo Western Sectional Championships where Colorado swimmers truly shine and impress, and
frankly that’s a lot of fun. It’s one thing to astound the home crowd, but
quite fun to have folks in the bleachers utter in amazement at the likes of
Colorado STARS Missy Franklin, 14, and the legions of other Colorado swimmers
leading the pack.
Last night was particularly exciting as Franklin and Jared
Markham, 16, of Greenwood Tiger Sharks broke a total of three National Age
Group records. Now, it’s great to set a meet record, get a Junior cut or even
National’s cut, but to be the FASTEST person to ever swim your race at your
age, that’s downright mind blowing.
Franklin broke two of her own records – the 13-14 100Y Free
with a time of 47.94 – and the 13-14 200Y Backstroke with a 1:51.07, reportedly
the third fastest time swam by any US woman this year!
Markham, meanwhile, smashed the 15-16 200Y Backstroke record
of 1:44.82 held by Kip Darmody of North Carolina with a swim of 1:43.66.
And there’s still three full days of competition left here
so expect more incredible races, and possibly another few NAGs from Franklin.
Looming on the horizon is Dara Torres’ 13-14 50Y Free record of 22.44 set in
1982. Franklin’s seed time is a 22.49. There’s also Katie Hoff’s 13-14 200Y IM
time of 1:57.76 Franklin goes in with a 1:58.17.
Who knows? That’s what makes swimming so much fun. On any
given day, anyone can have an extraordinary race, and that’s true whether
you’re setting a new NAG record or just posting your own personal best.
Hats off to some awe-inspiring swims, and a happy birthday to the top swimmer in my book -- my daughter who turns 15 today.
